Rediscovering Personal Worth: Embracing True Value Beyond Societal Pressures and Material Success

Have you ever pondered what truly defines your worth? This episode invites you on a heartfelt journey to explore the essence of personal value, especially in moments when societal pressures seem overwhelming. Through the lens of the holiday season and the feelings it evokes, we engage in a rich discussion that challenges the notion of equating value with material success. Our conversation is not merely philosophical, but deeply rooted in spiritual teachings, emphasizing the importance of surrounding ourselves with those who inspire authentic growth and highlight our inherent worth.

As we navigate through the tapestry of societal expectations, we take a critical look at how cultural shifts and financial challenges can skew our perception of self-worth. Together, we unravel the truth that being created in God's image bestows an intrinsic value far beyond worldly achievements. The pressures of living paycheck to paycheck and the ensuing sense of inadequacy are tackled head-on, offering listeners practical insights into maintaining self-awareness and resilience amidst a rapidly changing world. This exploration urges a return to core values, both personally and within the community, pushing against the tide of superficial success.

The personal journey of faith and redemption is at the heart of our conversation, shedding light on the transformative power of understanding one's value in Christ. Reflecting on personal experiences of doubt and struggle, we affirm that true forgiveness and purpose are not earned but freely given through a relationship with God. Critiquing modern church practices, we call for a renewed focus on genuine spiritual growth and discipleship, encouraging listeners to embrace the unwavering love and grace offered by God. This episode is a profound reminder of the intrinsic value placed upon each individual, inspired by scripture and personal testimony, leaving you with a sense of hope and empowerment as you navigate your own journey.

Chapters

• 0:01 Value in Holiday Seasons and Relationships
• 6:35 Identifying True Value in Relationships
• 12:48 Understanding Your Value in Christ
• 24:42 Understanding Your Intrinsic Value in God
• 30:54 God's Unconditional Love and Your Value

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

What is up? Faith in Failures. We are going to dive into another topic today, and we're coming up on the holiday season at the time of this recording, and even if we're not in the holiday season by the time you view this, I want you to understand something very simple that you should know whether you know God or whether you don't, you have value. Say it again you have value. There is a value system that was put on your life. Whether you believe in God or whether you don't, the fact still remains that Jesus Christ came and that was the worth of your life. So hold on to that.

Speaker 1: 0:53

As we go through whether you're watching this, through the Christmas season, you may be by yourself, maybe having a first time where you don't have people you loved and cared about, that. Maybe it's the first time you're going through a season of not having them around, and it could be very tough, very hard. Maybe someone divorced, maybe you've lost parents that have been divorced, or whatever. There's a lot of different scenarios. Fill in the blank with whatever your little heart desires, but I want to tell you that, even through how it feels and what you're suffering through in this season right now, where everybody else seems to be celebrating. Everybody else is happy. You got all the little little gushy, mushy video or like terrible Hallmark films that are coming out right now with with actors that I guess have just given up, I don't know, with all the love stories surrounding the Christmas holiday spirit. With all the love stories surrounding the Christmas holiday spirit. Remember that, even though you feel like you're left behind or you're left out, that you do have value and we can get sidetracked. People can get distracted with the, with the Christmas season, with the holiday season with, and then we got the one a couple months after that's now it's the love month and everybody's talking about uh, everybody's just doing what I do year round. Come on, somebody trying to buy flowers, trying to get chocolates, trying to do this and that my favorite chocolate is peanut butter cups, by the way, if you're wondering. And it seems that we get so wrapped up in these moments and these seasons and these times where celebrating is good, but then we end up leaving out or leaving behind the people that are really quietly suffering and forget that, whatever they're going through or whoever left, or whoever left them behind, it's very easy, especially spending years with somebody. You feel like your identity has been ripped from you, and I just want to tell you that that is not the case. Even though that may be how it feels, that is not the case. You have value and people in your life bring great value to the table for your life, but that is not how you measure your value, and we're going to talk about that today. So stick with me.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Before we get into today's video, I just wanted to say thank you to all of the new subscribers. If you haven't yet, consider subscribing, hit that bell notification so that you can see every time I put out a new video. A major portion of you that watch my videos haven't subscribed yet, so why not? It's free. You can also find a PayPal link below if you want to give a one-time or give a monthly to support the channel. Anything, great or small, is appreciated.

Speaker 1: 3:32

Now let's get into the video. So let's dive into some scripture. Today, let's read Psalm 139, 17 and 18. It says how precious are your thoughts about me. Oh God, they cannot be numbered. That's a lot. I can't even count them. They outnumber the grains of sand, and when I wake, you are still with me.

Speaker 1: 4:01

So, through this Christmas season right now, through this holiday season through the new beginning of 2025, there are a lot of people that get to a place where and I've been there myself get to a place to where you can feel so secluded and alone that it feels like you are just on this journey by yourself. But, like we started off this podcast talking about, I want to tell you something very serious and important that I want you to internalize, I want you to repeat to yourself over and over again, is that you have value. You have value. We live in a world that often measures our worth by the things that we have, our worth by the things that we have, the things we obtain, like our jobs, our status, economic status, our possessions, how other people see us. There's a saying that is very I like it. It makes sense, it's so factual, it's so true. It says if you show I tell my teenager this, talking about getting good friends, having healthy people around you you want to see where you are in five to 10 years. Show me your three to five closest friends and that is where you're going to go or you're going to be.

Speaker 1: 5:16

Some of us need to pay attention to whether people are pulling us down, pulling us back, or if they're actually spurring us, like the Bible says, and pushing us in a direction that will help us become better in all areas of our life. And specifically, if you are a Christian, do you have people around you that are kind of eh, or do you have people that actually read the Word? Do you have people that actually pray, people that actually fast, people that actually enjoy going to church, actually enjoy and know how to worship? If you don't get people around you that are slightly, or even sometimes a lot better than yourself, you will never get better. You have to have someone pulling you or pushing you into a new place in your life, into a better place, into a stronger, more refined Christian than just the blah that just sits around and does whatever and kind of haphazardly or half-heartedly does Christianity and lives for God. And if you have that in your life, you need to re-check your um, what you what you call quality, because quality bad or good will contaminate your bad or good, if that makes sense, just like one bad apple can ruin the bushel. It's the same thing as spiritual walk. It's the same thing in your finances If you always hang out with people who never have any money.

Speaker 1: 6:35

If you always hang out with people, and I'm not talking about if you're the person that never has money or whatever like that. You would be that person to other people. There are different types of less than people. There are the type the less than people. And when I say less than, I'm not saying you're less of a person. I'm saying maybe you don't have the nice job or the good job, maybe you don't have the nice car, maybe you don't have the nice home, excuse me, maybe you're always struggling. You're always you know paycheck to paycheck. Maybe you're always struggling. You're always you know paycheck to paycheck. That's a major portion of America.

Speaker 1: 7:08

The banks are in big, huge, nice places because we like credit cards and they charge interest and that's how they make their living. That's how they. If you go to a little bitty bank, it ain't got a whole lot. They ain't charging a whole lot of interest. They ain't out there trying to nickel and dime everybody but the major banks. That's what they do. That's how they make their living. That's how they can build skyscrapers in large cities because of us. They're feeding off the blood of us and we're giving it to them for free.

Speaker 1: 7:37

It ain't free, but that being said, so if you're that person that doesn't have all the stuff that you once desire to be, say I'm me. I have three guys, three, three people around me that are that they got nice jobs, they're successful, they're organized um, and that doesn't mean they always obtain things, but they're not living paycheck, paycheck to paycheck. They understand that, that the lender is slave, or the borrower is slave to the lender, as the word says. They're not suffering and fighting and clawing their way out of debt. Okay, there's a big difference.

Speaker 1: 8:14

But then you have the one person over here that maybe is trying to get better. Here comes two people trying to get better and they are trying to surround themselves with people who are healthy, quality people so that they can get better. That is a person worthy of holding onto. That is a person who you can pour into, who you can take your time with, who you can disciple and show them how to do life better, show them how to not have to struggle.

Speaker 1: 8:42

But then you have the other flip side of that coin, to where they never want to do anything. They don't want. They're they're. They just work to maintain. They're not trying to be successful, they're not trying to to ever go up in the next level in any way in life and these people are people that I don't want around me. I separate myself from those people because bad company corrupts good character. Like someone who is that bad and doesn't care that they're that bad, doesn't have self-awareness, doesn't care, doesn't want to do better, always is buying on someone else's dime and always doing this and they never can get ahead. They are going to stay in that cycle for the rest of their lives and they can easily twist things and make it look better than it appears and you can do in that you can go in that same direction. So that's usually how life is measured in society, at least here in America.

Speaker 1: 9:33

It's by the possessions you have. A lot of times it's by the people you know I got, I got a guy I love the guy to death, but he name drops like a crazy person. Like he's a little bit older, he lived a life around a lot of famous people and it was he's better about it now, but it was the main topic of conversation always when I would meet him like and talk to him always about who he, what he'd done, who he was around and things like that, and it was just like that's he, but his value is wrapped up in what he had done in his life and that can be very distracting and it also can be very damaging. If you're supposed to be living for Christ, christ should be who you're wrapped up in. How Christ did things, what Christ did, how he lived, how he portrayed himself, how he had compassion for people that is something to name drop about.

Speaker 1: 10:21

But a lot of times, with the accolades of living out in the world, it's very hard to get those roots out of your life. So we chase guilty as charged as well. I'm pastor of a church and I do this and I have to stop myself and recheck my mind and my heart because we chase around for, sometimes, the approval of other people. But I want to remind you today that the value on your life does not come from this world. They can try to sell you whatever they want, but you have the option to resist the temptation of that and using that as the excuse me as the defining characteristic of you. God has called you to more than that. God has defined us.

Speaker 1: 11:18

So point number one is you are created in God's image. The foundation of our value begins with understanding that we are created in the image of God. The truth is not just a poetic thought, it is a reality that should shape the way we view ourselves. So Genesis 1, 27,. It says so. God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them, male and female. He created them.

Speaker 1: 11:54

And this is why it's so damaging in our society, where young people, and some older people too, are trying to, in a way, play God. When they're switching up genders, they're trying to say what God did is not good enough or he did it wrong. And this is why it's so damaging to our culture, because now we're taking the truth of God and we're trying to twist it to fit the mold that we want him to fit into, and it becomes damaging to culture, becomes damaging to society, to the churches. It has infiltrated the churches in such a way they've had drag queens come and be in the churches and put on shows in front of people that claim Jesus, in front of children. It is getting disgusting and pathetic. That being said, what are you, as Christians, standing up and doing something about it? Like? Are we allowing this to become and doing something about it? Like are we allowing this to become and just like? Oh, they're just going to do what they're going to do, which is true.

Speaker 1: 12:48

Sinners are going to be sinners. Just like when I was a sinner and I didn't care anything about God, didn't care about living holy, didn't care about living righteous before a holy God. I lived however I wanted to live. It was just a thing that I did. It was just another way. It was just a thing that I did. It was just another way. It was my way of life. But now that I've given my life over to God, everything about me should be wrapped up and start from Christ, start from the word and then go do in the world. So Christ is the foundation and we can go in the world and be on solid rock and we won't falter or get blown over. So we are not accidents. You are not an accident or random beings.

Speaker 1: 13:28

From the earth's very beginning, god stamped his image on us. This means we have an intrinsic worth, not because of what we do or achieve, but because of who made us. The Ford vehicle was one of the first manufactured vehicles that was motorized. It can do something that nobody had ever seen before, and so when a Ford name is stamped on a vehicle now, it means something because of the creator that made it. The very DNA of mankind is stamped with the creator's stamp because we're made in his image and so you in your DNA, you in your makeup and the way that you are and don't try that bull in the comment section about well, what about homosexuality? They were born that way. No, they ain't. That is a taught thing. Homosexuality is not in the DNA makeup. So just putting that out there right now. We are created in the image of God. Now, what happens after birth is that, for instance you've probably seen this meme too, and this is a very good example of I was born this way is a bunch of junk and nonsense. It's ideology. Political junk is all it is. You have a little white boy and a little black boy and they're hugging a little tiny, like maybe one year old, two year old, and it shows, and it demonstrates very early on that racism is something that is taught over time, just like this gender confusion and dysphoria stuff.

Speaker 1: 15:07

It is a a encouraged mental illness that has happened over time, of where I believe now you can say sinners are sinners and evil is going to be evil. Very true, but Christians have stopped stepping up to the plate and calling out sin as sin. And so now we live in a world that is the fruit of our not labor, like we haven't been doing anything, we haven't been saying anything. The churches are just oh, come on, everybody, come on in, which is true, we want to invite the sinners in, but in reality, it should not be the sinners infiltrating the church, it should be the church infiltrating the centers out in the public area. It shouldn't be that they have to come to us to find God or, if they're only coming to us to find God, this is why God now becomes us, because they have brought their sin into the church and the church, being the church, the body of believers, has been infiltrated by disease and corruption. And then we're like well, I don't know what happened.

Speaker 1: 16:05

The church is so progressive today. It's because the church has stopped going out to the sinners and we wonder what has happened. We've lost that sense of compassion and urgency that people need to know Christ. We're so concerned about them coming to us looking good Like, and I'm not. Oh man, this is frustrating. I'm not trying to like, I'm not going to say names, but if you ask a pastor today, I've done this and I have been guilty of doing this, like it just comes out. People say and I have been guilty of doing this, like it just comes out. People say so how's the church doing? Well, we had 120 last week in service. Like, bro, that is not what I asked you. How is the church doing? Like, are we making disciples? Are we reaching the lost? Are we chasing after God? Are we being generous? Like, how is the church and we talk about how many people are in the seats? And this is, I believe, the biggest trick of the enemy how he has gotten into the church is that he's gotten into the leaders to think that this is success. A number system is success, and that's not accurate.

Speaker 1: 17:12

Let's go to point number two. Your value is proven by Jesus' sacrifice. So listen to this. God's love for you and your value to him is demonstrated by the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. Jesus Christ laid down his life to redeem you, showing you that your worth is more than anything in this world. And we see in John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. That is how much God loves this world. That is how much God loved you. That's how much God loves me. That's how much God loves the center, that's how much God loves the person that is in the church sitting or the person serving in the church. That is how much God loves us. He sent his son for us, and I preached at the time of recording this.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Yesterday was Sunday. I preached a message about being entitled and how the church has has become an entitled Pharisee church, to where we act like we have done something to earn our salvation, like we've been living this full, this good, foolproof, perfect life. And we've done it. And, and that's why we're saved, that's why God sent his, sent his spirit to give us all these gifts. And the church of Corinth was the same type of way. They took everything God gave them, perverted it and made it into their own selfish gain. And it had to be put down, because that's why Paul wrote the letters, because they were perverting a blessing that God had sent by the way of the Spirit.

Speaker 1: 19:00

And I believe I'm a part of what's called a Pentecostal denomination, which they believe in power the day of Pentecost, but sometimes we and I say we we take the gift of tongues and the infilling and the indwelling of tongues are two separate things. The gift of tongues is a corporate setting that is given out and then there's an interpretation. That is a proper corporate setting of tongues out loud in church. But then there's also other things that Paul writes about. He says that he speaks in tongues more than all of you and if he does that, that's that is a kind of a phrasing that says it is more of a private thing between him and God. And I'm more of a private tongues person, like I'm not out loud about it because I want to be so sensitive to those who don't understand. I would rather them hear, like Paul says, I would rather them hear prophecy and be encouraged or be corrected than I would for them to hear tongues and glorify me. And that's what I think a lot of Pentecostal people have done to tongues. They have perverted it. Paul will be sending us a letter today.

Speaker 1: 20:13

We're Pentecostal but we have made tongues into a almost like a rite of passage to where, if you don't do it now, you're like a JV Christian and that's wrong of us, because the Spirit gives the utterance, the Spirit gives that and the gifts. So it's not about us. So we should not be able to boast. And just like the value of a person, like God sent, he said Jesus is what you are worth. So the cross was not an afterthought, it was a. It was God's intentional plan to show the depth of his love for you and me. If you ever doubted your worth or maybe you're doubting your worth right now remember that Jesus thought you were worth dying for. He saw the brokenness of humanity and he still said you are worth saving. Now, the value of something. Think about this the value of something is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay. The value of something is determined by the price someone is willing to pay for it. Jesus paid the highest price for you, and that was his life. That means your worth is beyond measure. Never let the world or your own insecurities convince you otherwise. The cross stands as a permanent reminder of your value, that Jesus paid it all.

Speaker 1: 21:44

Look over in Ephesians, chapter 10. Point number three is you are God's masterpiece. I'm sorry. Ephesians, chapter two, verse 10. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can do good things. He planned for us long ago. You and I are not just an ordinary creation. We are God's masterpiece and, just like any artist takes pride in their work, god takes pride in you. He didn't just create you and leave you to figure things out on your own. He didn't just create you and leave you to figure things out on your own. He has a plan and he has a purpose for you that he has formulated long ago. This verse reminds us that we are not accidents, but we are made with intention. Even in our struggles and imperfections, god is shaping you into the person he created you to be. You are valuable not just for what you do, but for who you are a masterpiece in the making.

Speaker 1: 22:53

Let's go to point number four, and this is one that blows my mind. God knows you intimately. In a world where we can feel overlooked, we can feel forgotten, god wants you to know that he knows you intimately. You are never out of His sight or thoughts. Psalm 139, 1 through 2,. It says O Lord, you have examined my heart and you know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up, and that's a pretty, it's pretty mundane thing to care about. But he's making a point here that it doesn't matter the mundane or the crazy. God wants to be a part. He knows, he sees and he cares, cares. You know when I sit down or I stand up. You know my thoughts, even when I far away. There is nothing about us that is hidden from God. He knows your strengths, your weaknesses, your victories, your losses. Yet he loves you deeply. He sees you not just as you are, but the person that you are becoming and that he is shaping you to be. God's intimate knowledge of you means that you are not forgotten and that you are always On his mind. His love for you is personal. It's not distant. I know sometimes we can feel Me Specifically. Most people don't Because I seem very confident.

Speaker 1: 24:42

Most people don't know this about me, but I'm one of the the biggest doubting Thomas's of my own personal abilities, my value. Like I, I have went through seasons of just like why God did you even pick me? Like what, why Doesn't even make sense, does not add up to me. Lord, you had to have made a mistake. But in reality, even when I was out there in the world, being stupid and on drugs and living on the streets and just trying to make it from day to day and got arrested and all the other stupid stuff that I did multiple times.

Speaker 1: 25:27

He was shaping me and he was caring for me, even when I didn't care for him, like he was still loving me even though I wanted nothing to do with him, even though I wanted nothing to do with him, and so that showed me something very real is that, even though I turned from God and was running from God, I was still for some reason. I can't give you a good reason why, I can't give you a good answer why but for some reason I was still on his mind and he cared for me still, even though I would try my best to push him away, to run from a call that I had in my life long ago. I didn't want anything to do with God, but yet, in the times where I didn't want anything to do with him, he was over here preparing something that at the moment, because he knows all, at the moment I was going to give in and give up Because I had nothing left to turn to In my darkest hour. At the same time, my purpose and my mission collided In that moment of decision. His love for you is personal. He is far away, but he is also so close. He is not a distant God.

Speaker 1: 26:49

Sometimes we feel, like me, unworthy of the attention, but the truth is God delights in knowing us. Your value isn't based on what you say or do, isn't just based on what you say or do. It isn't just based on what you say or do. It's rooted in the fact that God knows and God loves you completely. Point number five your value comes from God, not the world. Matthew 10, 29. What is the price of two sparrows? One copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it, and the very hairs on your head are all numbers. So don't be afraid, you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. The world tries to tell us and define us of what our worth is, but this example, right here in the Word in Matthew 10, shows that God cares so deeply about the sparrows and not one falls to the ground without him knowing. And yet we are worth more than that to him.

Speaker 1: 28:11

You don't have to earn God's love. You don't have to try to do the right thing or go to the right church or say Hail Marys or whatever it is that you feel like you have to do to get in God's good graces. That's actually against the Word of God. You don't have to do anything to earn His grace, his mercy, his love or His forgiveness, except for saying yes to Jesus. And when you say yes to Jesus, this then produces out of you good works. Good works does not produce salvation. There are many denominations and other sects of religious belief that try to tell you you have to do a certain thing a certain amount of times and do this and do that to pay for what you have done and to be forgiven from God. That's not true at all. Now there's a process to help other people forgive you If you've hurt people. I've had to go through that myself, but it was after I was forgiven from Christ that I had the courage and the strength to even do that and know how to do it properly, because the world cannot teach you how to truly forgive because they themselves have not been forgiven, have not been forgiven Now.

Speaker 1: 29:21

Think about the one who created us, loved us and gave his son for us. We start with the firm foundation God first and then build from there. Our worth is not defined by the world, but by God, who calls us his masterpiece, he knows us intimately and who thinks of us constantly. When you feel insignificant, defeated, unworthy alone, remember that God sees you as a precious and priceless child. You are his, and your value is beyond measure Romans 8, verse 38. Is beyond measure Romans, chapter 8, verse 38,. And I'm convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. And God's love and God's salvation are not the same thing. But because of his love, he sent a way for salvation. So I don't know who you are watching this. I don't know what is going to come of this, but I do know this Whether it was just 100,000 people to watch this video, this, whether it was just 100,000 people to watch this video or if it was just for one, I want you to know and understand that you have value and that God does love you.

Speaker 1: 30:54

Did you hear me? You have value and God loves you. You can never run too far to outrun his love. You can never run too far to outrun his love. You can never do too much too bad to never be forgiven. God, god's value system on you was worth his one and only son. That's how much he thought his life and blood was worth. And Jesus thought the same thing, or he wouldn't have laid down his life. So thank y'all for watching today. If you know somebody who may be being down this season, or maybe it's this next year, or whenever you find this video, and they are feeling down about themselves and not understanding who they are or remembering their worth, send this video to them so that they can remember that God sent His Son to die on the cross. I love you and I'm praying for you, and I hope you have a great rest of your week.